Los Angeles County, CA, Biographies
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MAJOR GEORGE H. BONEBRAKE.
It is not to her wealth, her manufactures, her agriculture and the
political power she wields that Ohio owes her proud position in the sisterhood
of States, but rather to the genius, enterprise, business acumen and the
integrity of her sons that her wonderful progress is due. Wherever great cities
have sprung up, wherever gigantic public improvements have been conceived and
perfected, profound legislative or judicial problems solved, vast, victorious
armies led, Ohio's sons have
come to the front. From the mother State to the remotest sections of the Union
they have gone, bearing with them the impress of progress. One of Ohio's sons
who has aided very materially in transforming Los Angeles from a sleepy Mexican
village to an important commercial metropolis, graced with every art, invention
and product of an advanced civilization, is Major George H. Bonebrake, the
subject of this memoir. He was born in Eaton, Preble County, Ohio, and there,
with such meagre advantages as were obtainable by attending the district school
two months in the year, and by a diligent improvement of every opportunity for
private study, he was prepared to enter college at the age of seventeen. In
Otterbein University, the principal institution of learning of the United
Brethren denomination, at Westerville, Ohio, he pursued his studies six years,
graduating in the classical course with gratifying honors at the age of
twenty-three. After leaving college he accepted a position in a neighboring
seminary as Professor of Languages, for which he was admirably adapted, being a
proficient scholar in Latin, Greek, German and French. The duties thus allotted
him not being sufficient to fully employ his active, ambitious mind, he applied
himself to the study of law under the preceptorship of General Thomas Brown,
distinguished alike as a member of the bar and for his eminent services in the
United States Congress during his fourteen years of connection with that body.
His association with that great attorney-statesman was a fortunate circumstance
in the career of Mr. Bonebrake. Not only did it lay the foundation for an
enduring friendship mutually pleasurable and intellectually valuable, but a
business co-partnership was subsequently established, under the firm style of
Brown & Bonebrake, which resulted in no small pecuniary profit to the
contracting parties. In the practice of his chosen profession, Mr. Bonebrake had
hoped to concentrate his superior powers; but an unforeseen event suddenly
changed the current of his life. The breaking out of the Rebellion was the
turbid tide in his affairs which tested the loyal heroism of the man and led to
honors, if not to fortune. In response to the call of his imperiled country he
enlisted as a private soldier in Company C, Sixty-ninth Regiment Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, in the early part of 1862, and entering upon the rigorous
duties of this new position with the same conscientious devotion and energy
which has characterized his efforts in every station in life, Mr. Bonebrake rose
by successive promotions for gallant and meritorious conduct to the rank of
Major, and was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel before being discharged. When
entering the army Professor Bonebrake resigned the principalship of the
seminary, much to the regret of the friends, of the institution to which his
efficient labors in that behalf had endeared him. On retiring from the army at
the close of the war with a proud military record, having given over three years
to the defense of the grand old flag, Major Bonebrake returned home and entered
into the law partnership with General Brown, as before mentioned. His marriage
with Miss Emma Locke, a former schoolmate, occurred upon his arrival home. Thus
he cast aside the panoply of war to enshrine himself in the habiliments of that
sweet peace born of the domestic loves. Twelve years of unruffled marital
felicity followed this event, during which two children�Blanch, now seventeen,
and Persey, eleven years of age�were born to Major and Mrs. Bonebrake, who still
live to brighten the afternoon of their affectionate father's life. In 1869 the
cashiership of the Citizen's Bank in Noblesville, Indiana, was tendered to and
accepted by Major Bonebrake, in which capacity his remarkable financiering
ability was demonstrated to the great satisfaction of the bank and the general
public for nine years. In the summer of 1878 that insidious disease, pulmonary
consumption, had made such encroachments upon Mrs. Bonebrake's health as to
render it necessary for the Major to sever his connection with the bank and
accompany her to the Pacific Coast, with the hope that the sanitary virtues of
the climate of Southern California would stay the ravages of the dread malady.
Eighteen months were passed by them in the most healthful retreats in this part
of the State, and everything that affectionate solicitude and medical skill
could suggest was done to restore the patient sufferer to health. But all proved
unavailing, and on March 2, 1880, Mrs. Emma Locke Bonebrake, one of the most
amiable of women, passed from earth. This ruthless invasion of his happy home by
the grim reaper was a terrible blow to Major Bonebrake, but in the majesty of
his strong manhood he arose from the tomb of his buried love with a calm
resignation to the inevitable, and resumed the stern responsibilities of life.
His investments were extensive and numerous, including city and suburban
property, improved and unimproved, besides many enterprises of a public
character. To Major Bonebrake and men of his class are the people of Los Angeles
indebted for the substantial business buildings which line their teeming
thoroughfares; the palatial homes environed by beautifully ornamented grounds,
and the cable and horse-car lines that convey the pleasure-seekers to charming
suburban scenes. The attention of every stranger in Los Angeles is attracted to
the stately and elegant block on the corner of Spring and Second streets,
covering an area of 103 x 120 feet, which bears upon its chiseled front the
names of Bryson-Bonebrake. On the first floor of the magnificent structure,
erected at a cost of $220,000, have been fitted expressly for the State Loan and
Trust Company the most splendid suite of banking rooms on the Pacific Coast.
They are supplied with every convenience and ornate with every embellishment
that art can suggest or wealth supply. The mammoth vault is a marvel of modern
invention, a model of strength and beauty, and is by far the finest in the
State. A hundred tons of steel were used in its construction, requiring five
freight cars for its transportation from Cincinnati, Ohio. It is as a financier
and business man that the eminent ability of Major Bonebrake's mental powers
have made him famous on this coast. Among the numerous institutions with which
he is associated in this capacity as counselor and directing head are the
following: He is a director of the California Central Railroad Company, the
First National Bank of Pasadena, the First National Bank of Pomona, the Savings
Bank of Southern California, the First National Bank of Santa Ana; and is
president of the Los Angeles National Bank, the State Loan and Trust Company,
the First National Bank of Santa Monica, and the Bank of Santa Paula. These
facts speak volumes as to the respect and confidence reposed in the bearer of
these great responsibilities by his fellow-men. In nearly every instance Major
Bonebrake was one of the prime movers in organizing these banks, each one of
which owns the building in which it is located, and the buildings are among the
best in the respective cities. He was the first to establish a carriage
depository in Los Angeles, opening at the same time branch offices in Stockton,
San Jose, Oakland, and Portland, Oregon, a transaction which contributed greatly
to the public convenience. He was the most influential in bringing the lines of
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa F� Railroad into Los Angeles, and aided materially
in securing and constructing the picturesque surf line to San Diego. He is an
active member and was the second president of the Los Angeles Board of Trade. He
has never sought nor desired political distinction, but rather shunned the
precarious honors too often obtained through unscrupulous means. Unlike many
successful financiers who are the architects of their own fortunes, Major
Bonebrake is habitually approachable and courteous. To the sun-browned toiler,
the sorrow-burdened child of poverty, the capitalist, count and congressman, he
extends the same deferential, dignified, decisive attention. He possesses a
large, well-poised brain, a vigorous mind, a strong sense of justice, and a
kind, charitable heart. And in the high noontide of his day it may be written
with truth, " His life is gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature
might stand up and say to all the world, he is a man."
An Illustrated History of Los Angeles County, California � Chicago, The Lewis
Publishing Company, 1889 Page 716
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler